FTSE climbs 2.5% as miners continue to strengthen

London's leading index rose almost 150 points, or 2.48%, to reach 6,045 by late morning, buoyed by the commodities sector.

Talvivaara Mining Company and Fresnillo were up 5.46% and 4.86% respectively, while BP and Royal Bank of Scotland also drive the index higher with rises of more than 5% each. Meanwhile, the All Share was also higher, up 2.2% to 3,130. The FTSE 100 soared ahead in the first trades of the new year, up 1.74% to 6,002.03. The strong start builds on last year's gains which saw the index surge 9% to reach pre-Lehman highs by the end of the year. A main driver of returns was the strong performance of miners, which have been key beneficiaries of growth in China. Rio Tinto was up 32% ...